Here’s How 360 Degree Review Can Add Objectivity To The Process

Performance review is a significant element of the organization. It is, however, a period when stress levels soar. Not only are the individuals stressed, the reviewers seem to be tensed too. For the individuals, there is much on stake. This review will decide if they get the pay rise that they have been waiting for since so long. It also decides whether bonus will be received by the individual, and if there are any chances of being promoted. On the other hand, the review process is a challenge for the organizations too. They need to employ creativity, thought, and dexterity at the time of performing the review. It isn’t easy to offer feedback that is viewed positively and is constructive at the same time.

There are various drawbacks to the review process. The first one is the fact that individuals and organizations wait for the entire year to perform the process. If reviewing is done on a regular basis, the employees will be able to address the concerns immediately and improve their performance before it’s too late. On the other hand, the individual’s manager doesn’t always know enough to provide constructive feedback. S/he might be the reviewed employee’s senior, but that doesn’t mean that s/he knows everything about the employee’s performance. Therefore, it is imperative that more people are brought into the fray at the time of reviewing, to make the process more constructive and holistic.

360 DEGREE REVIEW – A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE

One reason why 360 degree feedback has caught the fancy of many organizations is the fairness that it brings to the table. Under this process of reviewing, different members of the organization are required to offer feedback for one individual. The individual can receive feedback from such sources as his/her peers, customers, functional/task managers, project managers, and even subordinates at time. Therefore, one receives a complete view of how that individual employee has been performing, and those areas of his/her work that needs some polishing.

DON’T IGNORE THE OBJECTIVE

What you need to understand is that the review’s objective is to help the employee being reviewed. Hence, 360 degree review must help you balance the feedback from all sources. You have to ensure that it does not end up becoming a little too subjective. All individuals, who will be a part of the process, need to be conveyed the importance of their feedback. Also, the manager needs to identify outliers / exceptions in the review process and evaluate them critically. It is important to keep the process as objective as possible.

PROCESS

The manger needs to dedicate extra time and effort to get this right. The manager needs to understand that not all companies welcome the process. This can be simply because this process is innovative and different. Moreover, if the organization is rigid, managers can’t implement it by themselves. They need to take the necessary approvals before they proceed. Here is a brief idea of the process that is followed in ensuring that 360 degree review is seamlessly performed:

The first stage is to prepare a survey, and send it out to all the individuals who shall be a part of the review process. This can include the customers, peers, subordinates, and superiors. The manager needs to decide if the same form will be sent out to all, or customized forms will be created for each member. The survey needs to be concise, and there needs to be space available to write comments.

The manager needs to communicate to the employees that filling the survey is encouraged but not mandatory. Once the survey form has been filled, the employees need to return them to the manager. These forms might have been filled anonymously or otherwise.

Next, the manager consolidates all the information that has been received. It is important that employees are not presented with individual ratings but a consolidated view of their feedback.

Finally, the manager adds his/her own comments to the consolidated review, and presents the same to the employee concerned.

SUMMARY

360 degree evaluation can play a crucial role in encouraging objectivity in the system of reviewing. However, proper steps need to be followed for it to be a success.

Vikrant Bhalodia

Head of Operations @ Webline Group, A Google Certified Professional.

A strategic thinker and a resource optimizer, with the ability to work effectively across all the levels of his functional areas, has expertise in aligning the operational resources successfully to optimize the processes.

Reconnoitring new things drives him and when he is not working, you will find him sketching cartoons and doing mystery shopping.